From being an institution people once looked up to for constructing a majestic temple in record time in Ayodhya, the Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust today finds itself unable to push back against serious charges of mismanagement. A special investigation team set up by the state government found allegations of pilferage from donation boxes valid, following which eight employees of the trust were arrested. One of them is Tinnu, a car driver for the trust’s general secretary and Vishwa Hindu Parishad vice-president Champat Rai. That Tinnu held the keys to the donation boxes indicates perilous ad hocism in the trust’s processes. Besides, the trust’s rules mandate that those tasked with counting the offerings follow a dress code that includes garments without pockets; it was hardly ever followed. Other rules like frisking were also ignored, indicating an institutional failure in safeguarding vast sums. Rai has since resigned and recorded his statement before the police. While the VHP puts a premium on probity in public life, Rai probably did not choose people around him wisely.
Public donations come from a place of devotion to the deity. Pinching it amounts to moral betrayal of people’s trust, which is why the Ayodhya Bar is refusing to represent the accused in court. Over ₹70 lakh has been recovered from the eight accused so far and the probe team is poring over CCTV footage for more information. In all, about 40 employees were part of the counting process. The whole episode has put the credibility of the trust at stake and derailed the VHP’s ongoing campaign against state governments running temples. Incidentally, the Ayodhya Trust is among the richest in the country, having raised contributions of about ₹3,500 crore and spent an estimated ₹1,800 crore in temple construction.
When the temple opened for public darshan in January 2024, it welcomed waves after waves of devotees, and sought the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam’s knowhow in crowd management. Had it gone further to learn from Tirumala’s vigilance systems and operationalised them, the Ayodhya Trust would have been in a much better place. Suggestions to corporatise the structure with the appointment of a chief executive officer for day-to-day management of the shrine appear well-intentioned. Injecting transparency and accountability will go a long way in restoring public trust.
